Valentino Rossi To Travel To Aragon And Attempt To Ride

Submitted by David Emmett on Wed, 2017-09-20 14:27

Valentino Rossi is to travel to Aragon and attempt to race in the fourteenth round of MotoGP at the Motorland Aragon circuit. After evaluating his fitness on a Yamaha R1M at Misano on Monday and Tuesday, the Italian had his leg assessed by Dr Pascarella, who performed the surgery on his broken tibia and fibula. After that examination, Rossi decided he was fit enough to travel to Aragon and attempt to race.

Rossi faces one more hurdle before he is allowed to race. He will be subject to a further assessment by the circuit doctors at the Motorland Aragon track, who will have to evaluate whether he is fit enough to race. Rossi will have to demonstrate that his leg is capable of bearing the strains of riding a MotoGP bike, which will mean standing on the broken leg, and being able to jump and land on.

Michael van der Mark will also travel to Motorland Aragon, as originally planned, but the Dutchman will initially be on standby in case Rossi can't ride. Yamaha have until two hours before qualifying to replace Rossi, so in theory, Rossi could ride in FP3 and assess his fitness immediately after that session. In practice, he is more likely to know whether he can actually race either directly after FP1, or on Saturday morning, after his leg has had a night to recover from the rigors of practice.

If Rossi does ride the bike in FP1, then pulls out, that will take some of the pressure off Van der Mark to score a result. With very limited time on the bike, expections on the Pata Yamaha WorldSBK rider will be very low indeed.

There is also a chance that Yamaha decides not to put Van der Mark on the bike at all if Rossi rides the first day. The precedent for this would be Loris Capirossi at Assen in 2008. The Italian suffered a nasty puncture wound in his right arm after crashing in FP2 at Assen, and Ben Spies, who had traveled to Assen to replace Capirossi should he decide not to start the race after returning from a broken hand picked up at an earlier round in Barcelona. As Capirossi had started the round, Suzuki were free not to replace him. That will also be the case if Rossi rides FP1, and decides he can't continue.

Below is the press release from the Movistar Yamaha Team:

Movistar Yamaha to Attend the Aragon GP in Full Force

Setup

The Movistar Yamaha MotoGP Team arrives in Spain for a very special 14th round of the 2017 MotoGP World Championship. Not only is the Gran Premio Movistar de Aragón the last European round before the overseas races and Maverick Viñales' home Grand Prix, but it's also a home race for the team's title sponsor, Movistar, and the scene for either Valentino Rossi's return from injury, or Yamaha WorldSBK rider Michael van der Mark's MotoGP debut as a replacement rider.

At the previous race in Misano, Viñales flew the Movistar Yamaha MotoGP flag alone. His fourth place at a very wet San Marino race was labelled as good progress by the Spaniard, as it was his first time trying the 2018 chassis in these conditions.

He currently holds third place in the championship standings, 16 points behind the joint leaders and - as the 2017 season has four more rounds after this weekend and there are still 125 points up for grabs - the number 25-rider has all to play for. This weekend he will focus on getting his Yamaha set up for the elevation changes and multiple flowing corners at the Alcañiz track as soon as possible on the Friday, so he can make another step forward in his championship challenge in Sunday's race.

The young gun has stood on the podium in Aragón three times before, thanks to a third place in 2011 in the 125cc class, a Moto3 second place finish in 2013 and a Moto2 victory in 2014. Last year he just missed out on the premier class podium, securing a best MotoGP placement in Alcañiz of fourth position. This year he fancies his chances to secure a place in the top-3.

After 17 days of recovering, Rossi got his first laps in at the Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli last Monday and Tuesday, before undergoing a medical examination today. Following the check-up, the Italian decided to make his way to Aragón in order to try to participate in this weekend's race. He will have to successfully complete a mandatory physical check by the MotorLand Aragón Chief Medical Officer to be declared fit to take part in the Grand Prix weekend.

Despite missing the previous race due to injury, Rossi arrives at the 14th round holding fourth place in the championship, 42 points from the top of the standings. While his leg hasn't fully healed yet, the nine-time World Champion is happy he might have the opportunity to attempt riding his YZR-M1 again and greet the Spanish fans in Alcañiz, where he stood on the podium three times before (three third places in 2013, 2015 and 2016).

Yamaha WorldSBK rider Van der Mark will still attend the Gran Premio Movistar de Aragón as a replacement rider, in case Rossi is declared unfit or if he feels he can't compete in Sunday's race after any of the Free Practice sessions. Should he be stepping aboard the YZR-M1 this weekend, he will do so without any prior testing. Nevertheless, he is looking forward to the challenge and to taking in as much information as possible, should Rossi not be able to ride.

The MotorLand Aragón is situated near the town of Alcañiz in Northern Spain and is only a few hours' drive from Barcelona. The circuit was added to the MotoGP calendar in 2010 and was given the IRTA Best Grand Prix of the Year award that same year, reflecting the riders' and the fans' appreciation of the venue. The fast and challenging 5.1km long track has ten left and seven right corners and a 968m longest straight. It draws thousands of fans, especially as it's the last European race before the triple header overseas, making it a round motorsport enthusiasts don't want to miss.

Maverick ViñalesChampionship: 3rd - Points: 183

"I'm very happy to head to Aragón because for us it's like a second home Grand Prix and we know that we can do a good performance there with the M1. It's one of my favourite tracks because of its lay-out, in Aragón we can be very fast. We are 16 points behind and we need to close that gap as soon as possible. For that reason, it's very important to push and believe that we can do it. In Misano we made a big step and I'm sure that we will do another important step this weekend. It's very important to stay focused."

Valentino RossiChampionship: 4th - Points: 157

"Fortunately, yesterday I had a good test with my YZF-R1M in Misano. I tried also the day before, but the rain stopped me after a few laps. Yesterday I managed to complete 20 laps and find the answers I was looking for. Eventually, the test was positive and I want to say thanks to Dr. Lucidi and his staff, who helped me find the best solutions to feel the least amount of pain possible in my leg when I'm riding. Obviously at the end of the test I was in a little bit of pain, but this morning I went to Dr. Pascarella for a medical check, and it came out with a positive result. At the end I decided I will leave for Aragón and will try to ride my M1 this weekend. If I will be declared fit to ride, I'll have the real answer after FP1, because riding the M1 will be a much bigger challenge. We'll see. See you in Aragon!"

Michael van der Mark

"Though it remains uncertain if I will get to ride the YZR-M1 this weekend, I'm still looking forward to it. While I would like to get to step aboard the YZR-M1, I'm also fully supporting Valentino making his return. I'll either get to make my MotoGP debut or, should I not be able to ride, I will get to see Valentino live in action as he makes his comeback. As I said earlier, I've not been able to ride a MotoGP bike before the Grand Prix kicks off so, if Valentino ends up withdrawing from the Aragón GP, I will have to jump in at the deep end at the start of the next session and just try my best. However, after securing my first WorldSBK podium of the 2017 season in Portimão, I'm having a good momentum to step up to the challenge. I want to thank Yamaha again for giving me this opportunity. I'm sure it will be a good experience either way."

Massimo Merigali

Movistar Yamaha MotoGP - Team Director

"First of all, the team is looking forward to welcoming back Valentino and his crew in the pit box! The Aragón GP is very special for the team as we share the title sponsor with this round of the MotoGP championship, and we are very happy that we might get to start the event with a 'complete' team and rider line-up. It remains to be seen if Valentino feels he can complete the entire race weekend, which is very demanding, especially at a circuit like MotorLand Aragón, with big elevation changes. Should Vale feel that his injury is causing him too much discomfort, then Michael van der Mark will step in as the replacement rider. If that is the case, the team will put in maximal effort to help him adapt to the YZR-M1 as quick as possible. He didn't get the opportunity to test the bike before, so it would be a very exciting but also interesting weekend for him. As for the other side of the box, we are fully engrossed with the fight for the championship. Maverick is 16 points behind the joint leaders, with five races to go, so we are as determined as ever to get a top result and decrease the margin to the top in the standings. He really likes this circuit and, as it's also his home race, he will be pushing hard this weekend to confirm his status as a key protagonist."

Comments

I have not hidden my dislike of VR the person on this and other web sites. I have never bought into the 'mugging for the camera' persona. I obviosuly have to acknowledge his titles and greatness, just not a fan of the man. Given this, I have to temper my criticism of his actions on the leg. I remember when he came back early, back in 2010, I thought, a desperate move. I'm glad it worked out for him (no lasting injury). I hope this current move also works out for him. Rebreaking a bone with a rod (or plate) in it, can make a mess of things, just ask Sheene or Lorenzo. As to the why, we can only speculate. Greater drive and ambition are certainly reasons, but is it also ego? To what degree is it a desire to win this years title? To what degree is it a desire to stay the center of attention (both with fans, the media and the team)? I for one don't know what the percentages are, but given my bias, I expect the latter reason is a non-trivial percentage.

I can't help but just be grateful that this man ever existed. That's hokey no doubt, but whatever. I suspect long ago the outcome or possibility of another championship became irrelevant even for Rossi. It's like a pretext that exists for the sake of playing out the fable.

For many people motorcycles are trivial things. Racing them, even more so. All of it was going according to plan when something clicked around 58's passing. And since then the answers to a conversation Rossi had with himself created what we are now witnessing.

It's not about ego. It's not about money. It's not about glory or g.o.a.t.ing. It's not about anything at all really. It just is. It's just what has to be. It's clear, simple, and elegant.

And having the opportunity to observe this mere mortal play out the consequences of his choices is more rarefying than all his stats or accolades. Like a testament to the heights of human achievement we are witnessing the chapters bookending a storied life. Mountaintopping - in a word - for it doesn't really matter now. That's my take on it anyway. That's what I'm cashing in on. Thank you Mr. Rossi for your choices. Not that you're perfect. Not even close.

Jumping up and down on a recently broken leg to prove fitness? Sounds like something out of the dark ages, surely modern medicine and physiotherapists have a better way of determining strength and fitness to ride. At any rate hopefully above all the right decision is made.

If you try to mechanically or physically manipulate a limb there's always a chance someone could grit their teeth and push through it. If they have use their own strength there's no way to fake it. You'll be able to do it, or it'll give way and you'll be on the floor.